Shannon Bream Will Take the Reins of ‘Fox News Sunday’

Brian Steinberg
·3 min read
3
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Shannon Bream has been picked to take over “Fox News Sunday”, the Fox News politics and public affairs program long anchored by Chris Wallace, making her the first female correspondent to anchor the show in its 26-year history.

Her official tenure on the show begins September 11, Fox News said Thursday. Bream will continue as the network’s chief legal correspondent. A rotation of journalists will guest anchor Bream’s current program the midnight-centered “Fox News @ Night,” until a permanent replacement is named.

More from Variety

“It has been an honor to cover major news throughout Washington over the last 15 years at Fox News,” said Bream, in a prepared statement. “I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to host a Sunday show and look forward to this new role.” Fox News has relied on a rotation of anchors to lead “Fox News Sunday” since Wallace departed late last year for CNN. Bream’s days behind the desk, Fox News said, “overdelivered the 2021 average of the show by 20%.” Some of her turns on “Fox News Sunday” also spurred significant increases among viewers between 25 and 54, the demographic most coveted by advertisers in news programming.

“Fox News Sunday,” anchored by Wallace for nearly two decades, has long stood as a serious journalism-focused counterweight to Fox News’ conservative primetime opinion programs. Wallace demonstrated flair for pushing and prodding guests on both sides of the aisle, and his on-air demeanor made him a candidate to moderate a few presidential debates as well. “We really research in depth the topics, the substance of what the guests have said in the past and various comments they have made on camera,” Wallace told Variety in 2014 about his process for the Sunday program. “I think that to abandon that is a mistake.”

Bream has also worked to provide journalism to the Fox News audience that tunes in at night for hot talk. Her “Fox News @ Night” originally launched in 2017 in the 11 p.m. hour, served as a news cap off to the Fox Corp.-backed cable network’s daily schedule. When Fox News launched “Gutfeld” at 11 p.m. as an answer to mainstream late-night programming, Bream’s show was pushed back by one hour.

During her time at Fox News, Bream has landed interviews with newsmakers ranging from Justice Neil Gorsuch to First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. In February and March of this year, Bream led the network’s late-night coverage of the war in Ukraine, providing viewers with real-time reports as Russian forces invaded the country in an expanded breaking newscast. In addition to her role as anchor, Bream has served as the network’s chief legal correspondent, and has covered every landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court since joining in 2007.

Before joining Fox News, Bream worked as a weekend anchor for NBC’s WRC n Washington, D.C. Previously, she anchored the evening and late-night news for CBS’ WBTV in Charlotte, NC and held writing and reporting positions at ABC’s WFTS-TV in Tampa. Prior to her work as a journalist, Bream practiced corporate law specializing in race discrimination and sexual harassment cases. She is an honors graduate of the Florida State University College of Law and obtained her B.S. in Business Management magna cum laude from Liberty University.

VIP+ Analysis: How Local News Is Driving FAST Growth

Best of Variety

Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.